With the spotlight now on these scammers in Dubai and the fear of clean sweeping, where would they run to again to continue to do what they know best to do ?
Seems like Dubai has become an unsafe haven for flaunting ill gotten and unexplainable wealth no more. At least if the signals that was sent out by that arrest, on going interrogation and upcoming prosecution of Hushpuppi, Mr. Woodbery and company is anything to go by. By all standards Hushpuppi and cohorts are no little/small fries at all. You don't defraud or intend to defraud/scam people to the tune of nearly half a billion [$500,000,000] and then you would be handled with kids glove!
These ones from all indications are unrelenting experts in the game-in fact masters of the game if one were to be more specific, in fact to state it well, badass professionals in the art of scamming, defrauding, hacking, impersonation, internet theiving (if ever there's a word like that!), e-mailce-mail compromise schemes/scams.
For the last year and half going to 2 and half, 3 years now, most of those engaged in the business of scamming on a very high scale had taken Dubai in the UAE as their preferred home, safe haven. Being sure of first, the safety it offers and then the extravagant glamour life it also offers as cloak and more that the place gives.
They had begun to see the sumptuously beautiful tourist haven, with the mad and outrageous display of wealth and extreme luxury, as their unofficial HQ. The place had become where they could just go and lounge and do just about anything they wanted to do without caring about unnecessary scrutiny, whilst also going about to just do their thing too- which is just flaunting their ill gotten wealth with utter abandon, their quite impressive ill gotten wealth at that, which are actually proceeds from crimes.
Dubai is already one place that people already display wealth like no man's business, so if they too go about doing the same, who would notice or see their extravagance as been out of place?
Their lingo seem to be "let's just show these proud Arabs, who think they have money, how it's done". And we are just too sure that those they were trying to impress at all cost, must have felt, who are these 'illiterates' going about without caution, wanting to embarrass us?
Hushpuppi, 37 and crew were like the typical Robin Hood stealing from the rich & wealthy and also the just surviving and then wanting to just bring attention to themselves at all cost. They wanted to be seen and addressed as the ultimate nouveau rich, new breed world-class celebrities!
Maybe part of why Dubai became some sort of welcomed destination for these sort, is because of the relaxed way or ease involved in getting there in the 1st place, as their visa is so easy to get!
So now that maybe the eyes of the law in the Emirati has opened towards their kind of crimes and their perpetrators, the crime which many of these boys are engaged in under the guise but that's their real source of livelihood. Now with the attendant SCRUTINY that must now follow, it's most likely that these boys, out of fear of exposure & capture, are sure to scamper away in numbers to go look for other places where the attention wouldn't raise eye-brows.
Just imagine that in just the space of only 5 months, that's between (February & June 2020) via Operation Fox Hunt 1 & 2, the caliber of those already caught and the kind of money seized from them & the kind of deals that were nipped in the bud have been ridiculous to say the least!
In that Operation Fox Hunt 1 in February 2020, also involving Africans, about 9 of them in all, they had already succeeded in scamming their victims to the tune of [Dh 32million ($8.7m dollars), that's about N3.4 billion Naira alone], they had also succeeded in opening and operating already, 81 fake businesses across 18 countries around the world! They were actually caught with 800,000 email addresses and other incriminating evidences and were in fact foiled from activating another terrible scam said to be worth a staggering Dh4b which came to about $1.08b dollars, that's about N419 billion Naira!
There first base after leaving Nigeria if they can travel internationally is Malaysia. Those who were still building up gradually moved to Ghana, those who could move more steps away moved to Johannesburg, South Africa. In fact the number of these guys in SA now is unbelievable to say the least. They are there now even as we speak doing their ish..... Some had gone to Istanbul in Turkey, like the infamous 'Otunba Cash' whose real name is Emmanuel Aneke and were having a treat from the proceeds of their crime just like the loud braggart and show offs Hushpuppi, Mr. Woodberry and the likes, but whilst still just settling down to business there, when before long, the long arm of the law caught up with this most flamboyant of dudes and cohorts and off to prison they went, to go pay for their crime.
The capture then of Otunba Cash is reminiscent of the same type of sting raid that just captured Hushpuppi and co in Dubai. Where they found so many incriminating things too, including cash, jewelry and the likes with the scammers too then. That was just in 2018 down the road and yet these dudes didn't learn their lessons from that. Just imagine being thieves for a living and then just flaunting your ill gotten wealth in the face of all without a care. It's like taunting and saying catch me if you dare or can!
Imagine that for Ramon Olorunwa Abbas 37 aka Hushpuppi and Olalekan Jacob Ponle, their respective job description are General Manager of MoneAbbas FYZ for Hush and Sales Representative for Mr. Woodbery!
One of the places they might also be shifting to gradually as some may have tested the grounds already is Cyprus, where a few of them might already be now and maybe St. Kitts. It seems like the laws there too might just be a bit too liberal and if they can manage to be model citizens or guests they might be able to stay under the radar. Citizenship in St. Kitts can be bought legally for about $195,000!
Malaysia used to be a major haven for them at a point, the rush to that part of Asia was unprecedented then. But like they always do, many rushed there and after a while it was like the place was getting too small for all of them together, so like it was expected turf war were starting up and therefore the need for space, hence the likes of Hushpuppi left and relocated to Dubai. The more glamorous and much smaller Dubai and the town actually began to favour him a whole lot as it was more accepting.
Just imagine that Hushpuppi and crew had already scammed people to the tune of $435 plus million dollars, that's close to half a billion dollars $500,0000,000 before they were apprehended! And when they were actually caught, a staggering equivalent of $40.9million dollars in Dirhams cash and other valuable things were found on them! Who the hell are these people carrying such amount of cash on them?
To let you all know how massive these boys (criminals) were and the kind of staggering amount they were playing with, many of the multitudes of yesterday stars or celebrities we know that are popular in America, some have a total worth of less than $5m and they are still considered as rich folks! Imagine that the former undisputed heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson now has a total networth of $3m dollars!
Just 13 cars seized from these boys alone, have a conservative estimate of $6.8m Dollars (that alone is N2.6billion plus Naira!). Hushpuppi's condo at the Palazzo Versace is said to cost him at least N600,000 Naira per night, that's at least $1500 plus every night! So that should tell people, the kind of luxury living on other people's sweat and livelihood these scammers were living.
Nigeria used to be one of their major playing grounds at a point and the night clubs and others involved in the lifestyle luxury businesses here gained stupendously from their crazy patronage. These boys would spend N11 million Naira in just one night and that's just one person's bill! How much do you make per hour to now spend like a drunken sailor like that? But that was until the anti-graft institution and the Police broke their bubble and many had to scamper away abroad and many to neighboring African countries. What Nigeria lost became the gain of Ghana, South Africa and co.
How does one justify in this world someone coming to a night club, a lounge etc and just one person and his crew alone spending at a go from 1 to 11 million Naira in one night! And then several clusters like these would now be competing to see who can spend the most!!!!
What kind of job is it that you do, that would allow you spend such way? How much do you earn from such a job to allow engage in such madness? Who is your father in this Nigeria? What kind of job is that your father doing that's bringing so much that you can spend as if there's no tomorrow? Or what kind of job did he do or is he doing, for him to have an uncaring spendthrift' son/child like you?
Just imagine that in this same Lagos, in the country called Nigeria, one of such boys had a wedding just a 2 years back and they literally intimidated everyone to submission, this included many hardworking older folks, who had to borrow themselves brain and decorum and just left the wedding as the display was getting too obscene to take in, with their vulgar and unprecedented manner of spending and spraying at the party. Imagine young boys in their 20s and early 30s spraying $100 dollar bills and the likes, like it were mere paper! These same boys drove to the location or venue of the reception, in a convoy of more than 30 cars that were made up of only G Wagons, Rolls Royces and other highest end Mercedes SUVs and a few Range Rovers. It was a most intimidating sight to behold!
We can still recall another scenario, where one of these young boys bought a brand spanking new Ferrari Spyder that was white in colour with tomato red leather upholstery from either Dubai or Beirut. The dude in his 20s, then proceeded to [air freight] the car to Lagos, abode an Emirate airline and then he went to the cargo section in Lagos on arrival to pick up his car and drove away to the admiring gazes of those there.
Just imagine that the same dude crashed that brand new car in under 6 months said to be beyond repairs, except he would sell it as scrap! Dude also owned a white G63 and a Maserati amongst the cars in his garage! The young guy had no visible source of income, like a company or so, that was his that he could point to, except that he was involved in Bitcoins!
There was also this particular dude who literally lived in a suite at one of Nigeria's best known hotel for close to 2 years then! He didn't even get the more popular part of the hotel, but he was staying at the special place with the signature touch and when you go to the hotel then, the front place used to be littered with some of the most exotic and intimidating machines on wheels you could ever imagine, owned by these boys! Ask these people what they do for a living, it's either they can't explain at all or they claim to be into real estate, which was the cliche.
The oil and gas sector they could have claimed had already lost lustre. Some, just a few of the somewhat smart ones at that, had quickly invested in nightclubs and lounges. Just like it is done abroad where under the guise, money laundering is going on easily to package legitimacy.
So where next for these boys now? From Malay/Singapore to Dubai to a few in Cyprus to .......where?
And guess what? It's a well oiled network across the world that they run. They know each other and when they meet up, they acknowledge each other. Maybe now with the arrests of first Mompha and then now Hushpuppi, Woodbery and co, maybe the likes of B......and co in Dubai whose source of business is supposedly selling and buying of Bitcoins would go low profile for a while before they may emerge again soon again to continue the only thing they know best.
Like it is said though, the dog that's about to go astray/askance, would turn deaf ears to the whistle alert or sound of the owner- hunter.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
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